Everything You Need To Know About RVR, Travis Lett’s New Venice Izakaya

Don’t let the unassuming exterior fool you.

Located near the corner of Abbot Kinney and Santa Clara in the angular, minimalist building that once housed MTN, RVR has no signage to announce itself, just a single amber light fixture hanging above the doorway. It’d be easy to miss, except for the crowds spilling outside. 

Inside, it feels like an upscale tavern. Dark wood booths with muted olive cushions line the walls, while a long table for large parties and communal dining dominates the center of the room. The restaurant is anchored by an L-shaped bar, above which jars of housemade pickles and other housemade concoctions rest. The bar offers a great view of the kitchen, so you can watch chefs fan whatever’s sizzling on the charcoal grill.

For a date night, the ideal spot might be a nook at the end of the bar. It’s near the DJ station, which is outfitted with a pair of turntables, a few crates worth of vinyl, and boxes of cassettes. 

The menu reads California meets Japan.

Like MTN before it, the focus is on ultra-seasonal California produce, prepared with rigorous respect for Japanese tradition. Amid that ethos, Lett and his executive chef, Ian Robinson, have added enough of their own funky touches to endear the menu to old fans seeking new tastes. Fermentation? Check. Vegetables prepared in unexpected ways? Check. Ramen, gyoza, and hand rolls? Check.

Vegetables are the star of the show…

Although “Vegetables” account for only one category on the menu — the other five are Small Plates, Hand Rolls, Gyoza, Charcoal Grilled, and Ramen — you’ll notice veggies in just about everything, often in sophisticated combos that you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else. 

That includes the house pickles (currently featuring cucumbers, beets, cabbage, and root veggies); a hand roll made with yam, ume plum, and the fermented soybeans known as natto; and a chicory salad tossed with a creamy tofu dressing and dusted with anchovy panko crumbs. Lett’s deft hand is also evidenced in stunners like the roasted maitake mushrooms, which are dressed in a lightly briney anchovy miso butter. There’s even kabocha squash in the gelato that comes with the dark, nearly flourless chocolate cake.

But there are plenty of heartier options, too.

Almost everything at RVR is presented as a small plate. Standouts include the pork rib gyoza, the crisp, juicy chicken thigh karaage with spicy honey, the duck meatball skewers with hot mustard, and the lightest, airiest tonkatsu (made of pork collar) you’ll find. The ramen comes in medium or large — go big here, because the thin, delicate noodles (made in house) are perfectly springy, while the broth, topped with crispy pork belly chashu, has just the right level of salty richness without bowling you over. 

A restaurant for all occasions.

RVR has an accessible, easygoing feel. If you want a dining experience that’s rooted in seasonality and a sense of place, you can get that here. If you want a quick bowl of noodles, you can get that, too. That’s very much by design by Lett, whose love of Japanese cuisine dates back to his New Jersey childhood, when his parents shifted to a diet of macrobiotic Japanese food. (His father was in the military and had spent time in Japan.) 

Beverages are tight and right.

To complement the food, Maggie Glasheen, former wine director at Anajak Thai, has drawn up a small list of a dozen wines, all available by the glass, dominated by French, with a few German and California offerings thrown in.  There are six sakes, although one of them, Kamoizumi’s Umeliciois, is actually an umeshu (plum wine). The cocktails are mostly light and offer mild twists on classics, like a Negroni made with a plum aperitif and shiso bitters instead of Campari and sweet vermouth. The housemade ginger ale and the grape shrub are great for those who abstain from alcohol.

How to get in?

RVR is currently only open for dinner but plans to start serving lunch in the new year. It’s a hot spot, but open seven days a week, with seatings as early as 5 p.m. all the way up to 11 p.m. (a rarity in this neighborhood), so come early or late and try your luck at the bar if that Notify doesn’t come through.